FILE PHOTO - Kamloops Fire Rescue responded to a pair of small fires within an hour near The Loop on Tranquille Road.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops Fire Rescue responded to two reports of small fires on the same morning beside a Tranquille Road non-profit called The Loop.

Firefighters first showed up around 3:18 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, where they found "a small paper fire" with people around it, platoon captain Norm Little said. It was quickly extinguished, but they were called again just an hour later.

When firefighters arrived around 4:20 a.m., there was no fire, he said, adding it may have been extinguished before they got to the scene.

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Little said the fire department often responds to small campfires as people who are homeless try to stay warm on cold winter nights. He couldn't say whether they've seen more campfires in the city this year than previous, but said the "traditional" areas for fires near encampments are along the river.

A much larger fire burned out shopping carts at what appeared to be an encampment, Dec. 14. It scorched the brick siding of a business on Knox Avenue, but didn't appear to leave serious damage to the building.

Glenn Hilke, who operates The Loop at 405A Tranquille Rd., said he's seen several people injured these season just trying to keep warm while they sleep in the cold. He wasn't aware of the fires near The Loop on Thursday morning.

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"There have been a number of people with first- and second-degree burns because they're trying to stay warm, but it gets out of hand," he said.

His volunteers have opened their doors to shelter-seekers on several nights this year, but only on the coldest nights that typically drop below -10 C.

"We need more shelters and warming centres," he said.

At least one person died this year in a fire that got out of control. Another person died outside in early November, but B.C. Coroners cautioned against connecting the death with the cold weather.

The Mustard Seed opened its emergency shelter at Kamloops Alliance Church on Dec. 14. It's the only emergency shelter on the North Shore and with 30 beds available, it will only open on days when temperatures drop to -10 Celsius or there's been five centimetres of snow.

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